Software and social media attacks to continue in 2014

Cybercriminals will continue to target software exploits and individuals on social media networks in 2014, according to security firm Panda.

The cloud security specialist claimed that holes in the software platform Java were responsible for most infections detected throughout 2013. It predicts that malicious hackers will continue to target similar exploits during 2014.

“The fact that Java is installed on billions of computers and is apparently affected by countless security flaws makes it a favourite target of cyber-criminals. Today, there is no exploit kit on the black market worthy of that name that doesn’t exploit a set of Java vulnerabilities,” Panda said.

The security firm said social engineering, which targets individuals with scams on email and social media networks, will also be a highly popular tactic used by cybercriminals in coming months.

“Social engineering gives cyber-crooks room to showcase their creativity,” said Panda. “After vulnerabilities, the second most frequent cause of computer infections is users themselves, who unknowingly fall into the trap set by cyber-criminals. This trend will continue to rise, and despite many scams will propagate via email, most of them will occur on social networking sites.”